The Color Element in the Miniatures of the Muralist Levni in the Transition From the Classical Period to the Westernization Period

Abstract

This work focuses on the color elements in the miniatures of Levni (Abdülcelil Çelebi), who was a miniature artist in the 18th century when the Ottoman Empire began to be influenced by Europe and culture and art. The relationship of the colors used by the artist with the colors of the cultural colors in the miniatures of the classical period, the absence of a component in the miniatures of the reflections of the Ottoman period and its art from western culture and art, and whether it was influenced by the works of European painters who came to Istanbul, especially by Vanmour, should be handled through the problematics. According to some information about Levni, Dimitri Kantemir, the Ottoman voivode of Moldavia, is likely to have met while he was in Istanbul. Perhaps he may have introduced the works of local painters in Istanbul. The main purpose of the research is to determine which colors they are on as harms in the use of color in Levni's miniatures made in the 18th century. In addition to showing the influence of the cultural environment of the period, Levni's miniatures are the miniatures that give a new breath to the miniature and depict the life of the period with all its reality and mobility in their depictions. In the study, the dominant yellow tone of the nine miniatures belonging to Levni, the main and intermediate colors used in the figures and the holistic use of contrasting colors, the colors used were examined and the color elements were determined. In order to obtain research data, thesis, book, article and internet resources were searched and literature research was conducted. Taking into account the data obtained from the literature review, the miniature images of Nakkaş Levni were examined and the pictures were analyzed with the descriptive research method and the results were revealed. In fact, other studies have been carried out in this field, as indicated in the text below and in the bibliography. This study, on the other hand, deals with the color element contextually by concentrating on more details, and distinguishes each painting in terms of its use in terms of the main-intermediate color tones and the general distribution of contrasting colors in the miniature.